Twin Blasts In Pakistan Target Shiites

22 Killed

February 6, 2010|By Alex Rodriguez Tribune Newspapers

ISLAMABAD — - Two bomb blasts targeting a bus filled with Shiite Muslims and later a hospital killed at least 22 people in Karachi on Friday in the latest outbreak of violence plaguing the troubled, nuclear-armed state.

The first attack occurred in the early afternoon in the heart of Karachi, when a motorcycle laden with explosives detonated next to the bus, Karachi police said. The blast killed at least 12 people and injured 50, provincial health officials said.

The bus was taking the Shiites, many of them women and children, to a procession marking the end of the annual 40-day mourning period commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

Less than two hours later, at Jinnah Hospital, where many of the injured from the first blast were taken, a second explosion rocked the parking lot adjacent to the emergency ward. That bombing killed at least 10 people and injured 20.

The blast created a panic at the hospital, where Shiites angrily shouted at police for providing poor security and began checking cars for other explosives.

Authorities said they believe the second blast also involved a motorcycle, parked among other motorcycles and cars.

With a population of 16 million, Karachi is Pakistan's largest city and its financial capital. Friday's attacks came five weeks after a suicide bomber blew himself up in the midst of a Shiite procession in Karachi, killing 43 people. That attack, on Dec. 28, targeted Shiites observing Ashoura, the Muslim holy day that marks the anniversary of the death of Imam Hussein.

The Pakistani Taliban later claimed responsibility for that attack. Afterward, riots broke out; scores of Karachi buildings and cars were set ablaze and ransacked.

There was no claim of responsibility for either attack Friday. However, Shiite Muslims are a minority in Pakistan and are often targets of sectarian violence at the hands of Sunni Muslim extremist groups.

ajrodriguez@tribune.com

INFORMATIONAL BOX:

Karachi and the Taliban

Pakistan has been rocked by a wave of bombings over the past 18 months by the Pakistani Taliban, but Karachi has been largely spared those attacks. Some officials have said that is because the Taliban use the city to raise money through extortion and other criminal activities and have not wished to draw attention to their presence.